Prepare for Trouble
by Disappearing Boy
Summary: Jessie and James are forced to work together for Team Rocket, but they don’t like it. Will they ever learn to get along? Takes place over several years. Rocketshippy oneshot.


Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

Author's Note: These are random scenes from Jessie and James' partnership as members of Team Rocket.

Characters' thoughts in italics.

* * *

**Prepare for Trouble**

James sized up the girl standing next to him in front of Giovanni's desk. Giovanni had told him that he would be paired up with another member soon, so James was prepared, even though he didn't relish the opportunity. He had worked alone his whole life and liked it that way. He wasn't really used to working with other people. _She looks pretty young, probably about 16, my age. Not that it matters._

"James, this is your new partner, Jessie," Giovanni broke the tension in his office. "Jessie, this is James."

James stuck out his arm confidently and looked her in the eye. "Nice to meet you."

Jessie shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, too," she replied coolly. She tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice as best as she could. _Why did I have to get paired up now, just when I was really getting good at this stuff? Now, I'll have to share the credit with this guy._

Giovanni started to speak again. "You two are among the best in Team Rocket, regardless of age. If you can work together, I know that you will become an unstoppable force that will bring this organization glory in the years to come. You'll be working together from now on, so get to know each other. Your first mission as a team will be next week. Any questions?"

"No, boss," they replied simultaneously, stone-faced. They were both experienced and well-trained. They knew better than to openly doubt the old man.

* * *

"James, get out of the bathroom!" Jessie screamed through the door. 

"I've only been in here for a few minutes," James protested from inside. "Keep your voice down, there's other people in this motel too." _Goddamn her. Goddamn Giovanni for trying to save money and letting us get only one room. What the hell was he thinking? How are two teenagers of opposite sexes supposed to share a cramped room? We're on our first mission together, the least he can do is spare a few bucks on another room._

"You've been in there for like 10 minutes! I need to take a shit!" _God damn it, how long does it take to shave anyways? He barely has any moustache._

"All right, I'm done," James said as he opened the door and walked past her. "Now you can shut the fuck up." Jessie stalked past him and slammed the door behind her._ This girl is the most insensitive bitch I've ever met, and I had to get stuck with her. Figures, with my luck._

Jessie smiled to herself as she closed the bathroom door. She didn't really have to take a dump. She just said that to get him out so she could shave her legs, which could not wait. She knew he wouldn't understand, so she had to make something up. However, she felt kind of bad anyways, since it was their first morning they were working together. While getting here, they had argued about everything, including when to stop the car, where to park the car, where to eat, and how much luggage to carry. They had gotten into town late last night and had fallen right to sleep. This was not a good start to their partnership, which, for all she knew, could end up lasting till the end of her career.

* * *

"HELP!" Jessie and James ran as fast as they could. An Onyx was racing after them and gaining ground fast. 

How could it end like this, Jessie wondered. How could the invincible tandem of Jesse James be so foolish as to get stuck in a canyon with the huge rock Pokemon? How long had it been since they had gotten together? Over a year? And so far they performed their duties flawlessly. Every mission had been executed perfectly – until now.

Just a few minutes ago, the Onyx had taken down both Ekans and Koffing. Now, it was coming after them…and they were running out of time.

James' mind raced as he fought his pounding lungs and aching legs to keep ahead of the gigantic Pokemon. _If I only had some water. That's all I'd ask. Just one bucket. I'd make it count. Too bad we're in the middle of a fucking canyon. Shit._

After a few minutes of sprinting, he finally gave up and collapsed against the canyon wall. Jessie followed him, gasping for air. Terrified, she clung to James, shaking. _We're gonna die. Alone together, right now. They'll never find the bodies. I just hope it'll be quick and painless…_

The head of the Onyx swooped down from the sky towards them. "Oh, shit!" They squeezed their eyes shut.

Just then, they heard the Onyx roar and felt water splashing down on them. _Was it raining?_ They looked up in surprise to see that the Pokemon had backed away from them a little, its head now thrown back, as if in pain.

They heard a shout from above them. "Want some more, Rock-Face!"

They saw more water splash over the Onyx, and were surprised and relieved to see that it was actually moving away.

"Hey, you guys ok down there?"

They looked up to see a cat on the side of the cliff, looking down on them.

"Yeah, we're fine."

"Alright, well I'll tie some rope to this tree so you guys can climb up." And they did.

"Must have been quite a scare for ya, huh? Huge Pokemon about to rip you apart and all."

"Yeah, it was. What happened?"

The cat held up a hose. "I gots enough experience to know how to deal with Onyxes. When I heard yous guys screamin, I thought I'd help, since…well, actually cause I got nothing else better to do."

Jessie just realized that the cat could talk. She and James stared. "You…you're a Pokemon?"

"Yep. My name's Meowth."

* * *

"After we get Arbok and Weezing healed, we can go get something to eat," Jessie explained. 

"But I want to eat now, how long's this gonna be?" Meowth whined.

"Just shut up and wait outside." _Goddamn furball._

"Fine," Meowth sulked. _Figures. Humans._

Jessie and James walked into the PokeCenter.

"Good afternoon. How may I help you?" the nurse greeted cheerfully.

"Um," Jessie started, "We were wondering if we could get our two Pokemon taken care of. They're a little beat up."

"Yeah, sure," the nurse said, taking the Jessie's pokeball. She paused. "Um, sir, may I have your pokeball?"

"James?" Jessie prodded. She looked over at him. He was just staring at Nurse Joy. "James!" She smacked him hard across the head.

"Ow! What?" he asked, coming out of his reverie.

Jessie was annoyed. "Give her Weezing so we can get out of here and get something to eat. I'm starved." _I can't believe he still does that at his age. What a weirdo._

"Fine," James replied. _Jeez, what's up her ass?_

After they got out of the hospital, Jessie yelled to Meowth. "Come on, let's go!"

"Ok, I'm coming. Calm the fuck down."

Jessie turned to James, who had a depressed look on his face. "Don't stop to gawk at any police officers now," she sneered, "or you might get arrested."

James grimaced, rubbing the back of his head. _How did I ever make through the past 2 years with her?_

Meowth smirked behind James' back. He had seen what happened before through the hospital window, and knew why Jessie got so upset. _She likes him. The poor bastard doesn't even have a clue._

* * *

Meowth made a fire while Jessie and James set up the tents in silence. It had been a very bad day. Another attempt to capture Pikachu had gone wrong, and they had been sent blasting off again. Only this time, the tandem had landed in a swamp. By the time Jessie and James were done screaming at each other, the sun was already gone, and it was too late to go further. They would have to spend the night in the woods. 

Meowth sighed to himself. _Everything was going fine for us until we got this stupid Pikachu task. Since then, everything's gone to shit, and everyone's in a bad mood all the time. I gotta do something to lighten up the mood, or else the next few days will suck._ He walked over to James' tent and peered in.

"Hey James, if you're having girl problems, I feel bad for you son. I got 99 – AHHH!" Meowth went flying out of the tent. Now he knew what it felt like to be bitchslapped. He got up slowly, clutching at his face in pain. _Some people have no sense of humor._ He went over to Jessie's tent. _I'll try a more tactical approach this time around._

"Hey Jessie, why the long face?"

"Piss off, Meowth. I'm not in the mood for your shit today."

"That time of the month again, huh?"

Meowth woke up a few minutes later on his back about 15 feet away from Jessie's tent. He realized that he now had a black eye and bloody nose. _Fine, if this is what I get for trying to help…_ He limped off into the forest.

When he came back an hour later, he wasn't surprised to see Jessie and James talking near the fire. _Ya sacrificed your own well-being for the team, Meowth, old boy. Job well done._

"Finally gotten around to making up have you?"

The two humans both jumped as Meowth came out of woods into view. "Thank the lord," he continued. "I was getting bored walking around and waiting for you guys to get back to normal. Now we can get back to fighting our real enemies instead of bickering immaturely amongst ourselves." He made a brave attempt at a smile, considering his present physical condition, and grimaced in pain. _However, it's gonna be awhile before my eye stops swelling and goes back to normal._

* * *

James sat on the edge of the bed, pulling his shirt over his head and grinning like an idiot. _What a night._ He shook his head, smiling at the memories. _That had to be the best night of my life._

Jessie woke up a few minutes later, blushing as she looked over at him. She picked her clothes off the floor and sat down on the other side of the bed. _Damn, what a night. I don't even think I'm gonna be able to walk today, let alone work, my legs are so sore. Sore in a good way._ She smiled.

James cleared his throat. "So…um, should we wake up Meowth?"

Jessie looked up at him, a shy smile still on her face. "Uh, yeah, I guess we'd better."

They walked to the bathroom, where they had "let" Meowth sleep last night. It was pretty big, since they were staying at a 5-star hotel, and Meowth had actually agreed to sleep there.

I couldn't have dreamed up a better place for our first time, James thought. _Far cry from those crappy motels we used to stay in when we started out together. That's got to be over 5 years ago…_

"Meowth? You wanna wake up? It's morning."

Meowth yawned loudly and opened his eyes. "Jeez guys, I didn't get any sleep at all, you were making so much noise. What the hell were you guys doing last night?"

Jessie and James smiled sheepishly at each other. Jessie finally spoke. "Oh, we were just, you know, fighting…" _Well, it's true, if you count arguing about who would be on top as fighting…_

"Figures," Meowth muttered, still half asleep. "Give me a few more minutes, would you? Close the door on your way out."

And they did.

* * *

A/N: That's it. Thanks for reading. Please leave a review. 


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